★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
Cite
Executive Order 11310 ⚖️⚠️ Zone 3: Lowest Ebb Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.19) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief / War Prerogative Tension

Executive Order 11310—Assigning Emergency Preparedness Functions to the Attorney General

•
Tuesday, October 11, 1966
•
6 min read (1,249 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 6 min read (1,249 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Attorney General shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering law-enforcement functions of concern to the executive branch of the Federal Government except to the extent that such functions are vested in other departments or agencies by statute or Executive order.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️⚠️ Zone 3: Lowest Ebb
Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief / War Prerogative Tension
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 11, 1966, this order concerns Assigning Emergency Preparedness Functions to the Attorney General. Scope. (a) The Attorney General shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering law-enforcement functions of concern to the executive branch of the Federal Government except to the extent that such functions are vested in other departments or agencies by statute or Executive order.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪

The Attorney General shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering law-enforcement functions of concern to the executive branch of the Federal Government except to the extent that such functions are vested in other departments or agencies by statute or Executive order.

▪

Upon request, the Attorney General shall assist, as appropriate, in developing preparedness programs covering law-enforcement functions vested in other departments and agencies of the executive branch.

▪

He shall also provide, as appropriate, liaison with and guidance and assistance to the various divisions of State and local government, and maintain liaison with the Federal judicial system and the United States Congress as hereinafter set forth.

▪

These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including an attack upon the United States.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️⚠️ Zone 3 (Lowest Ebb)
§

"When the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." — Federalist No. 47 (1788)

Madison would express grave alarm over this order. By asserting independent authority in tension with legislative limits or the Bill of Rights, the Executive risks collapsing the separation of powers into unilateral rule. Under the Madisonian model, no emergency justifies the Executive substituting its decree for a deliberative Act of Congress.

Madisonian Stance: Strict Dissent (Overreach)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Vehement Objection
📐

Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚠️ Elevated Constitutional Friction
70 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

High Friction

Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

High Friction

Scrutinized under the Bill of Rights for potential impact on private contracts, property rights, or procedural due process.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

High Friction

The order asserts independent Article II prerogative against statutory constraints, reallocates funds without explicit appropriation, or stretches executive power into realms constitutionally reserved to the legislature or judiciary.

Benchmark: Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This directive engages significant constitutional friction across statutory authorization, legislative prerogatives, or individual liberties.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
1,249
8,425 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
-0.19
Constitutional Friction / Overreach
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and pursuant to Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (72 Stat. 1799), it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Scope. (a) The Attorney General shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering law-enforcement functions of concern to the executive branch of the Federal Government except to the extent that such functions are vested in other departments or agencies by statute or Executive order. Upon request, the Attorney General shall assist, as appropriate, in developing preparedness programs covering law-enforcement functions vested in other departments and agencies of the executive branch. He shall also provide, as appropriate, liaison with and guidance and assistance to the various divisions of State and local government, and maintain liaison with the Federal judicial system and the United States Congress as hereinafter set forth. (b) These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including an attack upon the United States. SEC. 2. Basic Functions. The Attorney General shall: (a) Emergency documents and measures. Provide advice, as appropriate, with respect to any emergency directive or procedure prepared by a department or agency as a part of its emergency preparedness function. (b) Industry support. As appropriate, review the legal procedures developed by the Federal agencies concerned to be instituted if it becomes necessary for the Government to institute extraordinary measures with respect to vital production facilities, public facilities, communications systems, transportation systems, or other facility, system, or service essential to national survival. 1455 (c) Judicial and legislative liaison. In cooperation with the Office of Emergency Planning, maintain liaison with Federal courts and with the Congress so there will be mutual understanding of Federal emergency plans involving law enforcement and the exercise of legal powers during emergencies of various magnitudes. (d) Legal advice. Develop emergency plans for providing legal advice to the President, the Cabinet, and the heads of Executive departments and agencies wherever they may be located in an emergency, and provide emergency procedures for the review as to form and legality of Presidential proclamations, Executive orders, directives, regulations, and documents and of other documents requiring approval by the President or by the Attorney General which may be issued by authorized officers after an armed attack. (e) Alien control and control of entry and departure. Develop emergency plans for the control of alien enemies and other aliens within the United States and, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, develop emergency plans for the control of persons attempting to enter or leave the United States. These plans shall specifically include provisions for the following: (1) The location, restraint, or custody of alien enemies. (2) Temporary detention of alien enemies and other persons attempting to enter the United States pending determination of their admissibility. (3) Apprehension of deserting alien crewmen and stowaways. (4) Investigation and control of aliens admitted as contract laborers. (5) Control of persons entering or departing from the United States at designated ports of entry. (6) Increased surveillance of the borders to preclude prohibited crossings by persons. (f) Alien property. Develop emergency plans for the seizure and administration of property of alien enemies under provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act. (g) Security standards. In consultation with the Department of Defense and with other executive agencies to the extent appropriate, prepare plans for adjustment of security standards governing the employment of Federal personnel and Federal contractors in an emergency. (h) Research. Within the framework of overall Federal research objectives, supervise or conduct research in areas directly concerned with carrying out emergency preparedness responsibilities, designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task-force groups, and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in areas involving the interests of the Department of Justice. SEC. 3. Civil Defense. In consonance with national civil defense programs developed by the Department of Defense, the Attorney General shall: (a) Local law enforcement. Upon request, consult with and assist the Department of Defense to plan, develop, and distribute materials for use in the instruction and training of law-enforcement personnel for civil defense emergency operations; develop and carry out a national plan for civil defense instruction and training for enforcement officers, designed to utilize to the maximum extent practicable the resources and facilities of existing Federal, State, and local police schools, academies, and other appropriate institutions of learning; and assist the States in preparing for the conduct of intrastate and interstate law-enforcement operations to meet the extraordinary needs that would exist for emergency police services under conditions of attack or imminent attack. (b) Penal and correctional institutions. Develop emergency plans and procedures for the custody and protection of prisoners and the use of Federal penal and correctional institutional resources, when available, for cooperation with local authorities in connection with mass feeding and housing, for the storage of standby emergency equipment, for the emergency use of prison hospitals and laboratory facilities, for the continued availability of prison-industry products, and for the development of Federal prisoner skills to appropriately augment the total supply of manpower; advise States and their political subdivisions regarding the use of State and local prisons, jails, and prisoners for the purpose of relieving local situations and conditions arising from a state of emergency. (c) Identification and location of persons. Develop emergency plans and procedures for the use of the facilities and personnel of the Department of Justice in assisting the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare with the development of plans and procedures for the identification of the dead and the reuniting of families during a civil defense emergency. SEC. 4. Interagency Cooperation. Unless otherwise provided in this order, the Attorney General shall assume the initiative in developing joint plans for emergency preparedness functions described in this order in consultation with those departments and agencies which have responsibilities for any segment of such activities. SEC. 5. Presidential Coordination. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning shall advise and assist the President in determining policy for, and assist him in coordinating the performance of, functions under this order with the total national preparedness program. SEC. 6. Emergency Planning. Emergency plans and programs shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of Justice on the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Attorney General shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determinations by the President. SEC. 7. Emergency Actions. Nothing in this order shall be construed as conferring authority under Title III of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2291-2297), or otherwise, to put into effect any emergency plan, procedure, policy, program, or course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order. Such authority is reserved to the President. SEC. 8. Redelegation. The Attorney General is hereby authorized to redelegate within the Department of Justice the functions hereinabove assigned to him. SEC. 9. Construction. Nothing in this order shall be deemed to derogate from any now-existing assignment of functions to any Executive agency or officer made by statute or by Executive order. SEC. 10. General. To the extent of any inconsistency between the provisions of any prior order and the provisions of this order, the latter shall control. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House, October 11, 1966.

🔗

Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,310 (Oct. 11, 1966), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11310-assigning-emergency-preparedness-functions-the-attorney-general.